


Sixth Year Scorbus

by matteahayn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Best Friends to Lovers, Gay Disasters, Gryffindor Rose Weasley, Jealous Albus, M/M, all fluff, quidditch drama, scorbus is canon, second golden trio, sixth year scorbus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:54:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24897256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matteahayn/pseuds/matteahayn
Summary: Chronicles Scorpius and Albus's sixth year- Scorpius joins the Quidditch team and it causes a journey for Albus to realize his feelings. They start as best friends and end as something more.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	1. A New Look

**Author's Note:**

> Rowling is HIGHKEY homophobic and transphobic so we're taking back the fandom! You can't tell me Scorpius and Albus aren't absolutely whipped for each other. Hope it makes you as happy as it has for me writing it!

September 1, 2023  
Albus could hear Scorpius approaching before he could see him. He was chatting animately with someone, and Albus was very curious who it was. He didn’t catch a good glimpse of the other boy though as Scorpius slipped into the compartment. Albus froze when he saw Scorpius’s face.  
“You look… different,” Albus said, and he realized he meant it more than just the new glasses. Scorpius had obviously had a growth spurt. He now towered over Albus, which he had to admit was intimidating. He also seemed somehow more muscular.  
“Wow! We haven’t seen eachother in a month and that’s how you greet your best mate? No Hey Scorpius? How are you doing?”  
“I’m sorry, that was rude-” Albus sputtered, still worried that Scorpius had seemed so happy talking to someone else earlier.  
“I’m only kidding, Al,” Scorpius laughed, ruffling the other boy’s hair as he took the seat across from him. “I know I look different. How do you like the new glasses?”  
At that moment, Rose burst into the compartment. She broke out into laughter when she saw Scorpius’s face. Albus couldn’t help himself anymore, either, and he joined in Rose’s infectious laughter.  
“You don’t like them?” Scorpius asked, genuinely hurt.  
“No, no,” Albus insisted between gasps. “They look good on you, its just-”  
“They look exactly like Albus’s dad’s,” Rose finished once she had gotten control of her herself.  
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to look you in the eyes for a month, mate,” Albus put in. He saw realization dawn on Scorpius’s face.  
“No wonder my dad nearly passed out when I tried them on,” Scorpius said. All three of them laughed at this. Albus could see the picture very clearly in his mind. It was very funny to him that his dad and Scorpius’s dad had been enemies while they were in school.  
“What are you doing here Rose? I thought you were going to hang out with Lily and all of them?” Albus liked spending time with his cousin, but they never seemed to hang out at school.  
“Maybe I just wanted to hang out with you guys,” Rose humphed angrily. “But I guess I will find somewhere else to be.” Without having even sat down, she turned out of the compartment, slamming the door behind her.  
“Wait- Rose- I..” Albus started, feeling terrible, but he knew it was a lost cause. Rose was far too stubborn to come back. Scorpius shook his head in disbelief.  
“She’s a firecracker, that one,” Scorpius said, with something like admiration in his tone. Albus felt a twinge of jealousy at this which made him think about what he had heard earlier.  
“Who were you talking to? Earlier, I mean, on the way here?” Albus tried not to sound too concerned. He knew he failed, but Scorpius was too nice to react if he noticed.  
“Theodore Nott. You know him? Seventh year, captain of the quidditch team? I’m- uh- thinking about trying out for seeker this year.” Scorpius said this last part nervously. It had obviously been worrying him to tell Albus. Rightfully so, Albus thought. He was terribly possessive of Albus. He did, in fact, know Theodore Nott. He was only the most popular Slytherin. He had girls and guys throwing themselves at him constantly. Of course Scorpius would be one of them.  
“That’s great Scorpius!” Albus cheered through gritted teeth. He overcompensated for his jealousy with a huge plastered smile.  
“You don’t think it’s a stupid idea?” Scorpius asked anxiously. His hands were shaking. He looked up at Albus with his striking grey eyes, begging for his approval.  
“No, not all,” Albus replied genuinely, pulling himself together for his best mate. “I think you’ll do great.” Albus had played with Scorpius before and knew that Scorpius was very observant on the quidditch field. He had always been a much better flier than Albus too. That must be where he got his muscles, Albus thought. From practicing Quidditch this summer. He couldn’t help staring at Scorpius’ toned biceps through his soft blue t-shirt.  
“Thanks, mate, that means a lot.” Scorpius smiled, the anxiety releasing from his shoulders. Just like that, the tension between them was released, but Albus couldn’t swallow the pit in his stomach that told him a rift was growing between them.


	2. Except for the Fact it Was My Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Winter approaches and Scorpius grows closer with the Quidditch team, Albus can't contain his jealously and tension rises between the boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Scorpius is a Scorpio I couldn't imagine it any other way. 
> 
> There's a lot of mini headcanons in this one so I hope you enjoy!

November 2023  
“Happy birthday Scorpius!,” Albus chants, walking over to his best mate’s bed.   
“Thanks, mate,” Scorpius’s lips lifted into a small smirk as he pulled himself up from the covers and rubbed his eyes. He looked up at Al after grabbing his glasses from the bedside table and the darker-haired boy’s heart started racing. Did Scorpius even know how lovely he looked in the morning? Albus quickly shook the thought from his head because he didn’t have time to unpack it.   
He held out a wrapped parcel and Scorpius’s long fingers brushed against his as he grabbed it. He started to unfold the thick brown paper carefully but quickly grew impatient and ripped it open. He threw the scraps to the side and stared down at the heavy bound book. “Wow! The Wizard’s Guide to the All the Stars in the Sky! Thanks, Al!” A massive overtook Scorpius's face and Albus felt a warmth of pride in his chest. He knew Malfoy would love it because astronomy was his favorite subject after all but he was still relieved.   
“Remember our plans tonight, right?” Albus asked. He lowered himself onto the edge of the other boy’s bed. Every year on Scorpius’s birthday, they would sneak up to the astronomy tower after dinner. Even though it was technically Scorpius’s birthday Albus looked forward to it every year. The thrill of doing something a little rebellious, being able to talk without the fear of being overheard, and the excited look on Scorpius’s face when talking about the stars.   
“Yes, of course,” Scorpius smiled with a twinkle in his eye. “I would never miss it.” He placed his hand on the comforter right next to Albus’s and they just sat there staring at each other for a minute without saying another word. 

“Have you seen Scorpius?” Albus assaulted a poor fifth year sitting at one of the desks against the back wall of the common room. She whipped around and he immediately felt bad when he saw the frightened look on her face. “Uh, sorry to bother you,” he added lamely. She shook her head and he backed up dejectedly. When Scorpius didn’t show up at dinner, Albus assumed he would meet him here, but it was 7 o clock and the blonde boy was nowhere to be found.   
“You’re looking for Scorpius?” a deep female voice boomed from behind Albus, scaring him out of his misery. He turned around to see a tall dark-haired seventh year standing there, broomstick in her hand. He knew she was one of the chasers for the team. “He was out practicing on the pitch with the team. He should be back soon.”   
“Thank you,” Albus sighed gratefully. The girl walked off with a nod. He plopped himself in a big black armchair and stared out at the emerald lake in front of him to bide time. He must’ve been more tired than he expected though because he drifted off. The sound of cheerful voices approaching aroused him. He sat up in the chair and looked at the large grandfather clock, realizing it was nearly 10 pm now. He was the only one left, which made it all the worse when almost the entire Slytherin Quidditch team came barrelling in, including a glowing, exhausted Scorpius. He was laughing at something Theodore had said, his eyes sparkling in a way that only Albus had seen before. His skin immediately grew hot and his fingernails dug into his palms as he stood up.   
“See you later, man,” Scorpius told the team, patting Theodore on the shoulder. He turned and flinched back a little when he saw Albus standing there. “Yo, you’re still out here?”   
“Yeah,” Albus rolled his eyes and stepped towards him. He expected the other boy to back up, but he didn’t so they stood there with their feet practically touching. “We kinda had plans?” He tried hard to hide the disappointment in his voice but failed.   
“Oh, oh my god,” Scorpius breathed, finally reading the expression on Al’s face. “I totally forgot! We can go do it now!”   
“It’s ten pm!” Albus shouted. He knew he was being loud, but he didn’t particularly care. This was so unlike Scorpius to forget something, let alone abandon his best friend.   
“What?” Scorpius seemed shocked. He looked over at the clock and his eyes grew wide. “Wow, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize how late I was out.” He glanced down to avoid eye contact and grabbed his right arm with his left and started stroking it.   
“Yeah, you seemed pretty occupied,” Albus spat back. He knew he was blowing this out of proportion and letting his emotions get the best of him, but Scorpius just didn’t seem to be getting it.   
“What is that supposed to mean?” Scorpius finally raised his voice and Albus groaned in frustration.   
“You completely abandoned me to hang out with Theodore Nott!!” He felt like he was going to cry but desperately tried to fight the tears because he was already embarrassing himself enough.   
“Bloody hell Albus,” Scorpius growled. “I already apologized.” He looked back up at Albus and his eyes were genuinely sorry, causing Albus to cool a little until his next line. “And It is my birthday after all.”   
“So you’d rather spend your birthday with the Quidditch team you barely know than me?”   
Scorpius reached up and ran his fingers through his hair in aggravation. “You know what?” he asked. “I don’t think this is about me at all. I think this is about you always needing my attention.”  
Albus stumbled back as if he had been struck, his face growing white.   
“F-fine,” he stuttered after a moment. “Go hang out with them if I’m so annoying.”   
“Fine, I think I will,” Scorpius agreed loudly. Before Albus could realize what a mistake he made, his best friend of 6 years had turned his back and disappeared without a second thought.

Albus woke up the next morning with a start, his head pounding and his jaw sore from clenching his teeth. He was having nightmares again. Usually, Scorpius would cheer him up, but… Albus couldn’t ignore the pit that grew in his stomach when turned over in his silky sheets to see that Scorpius had already gone to breakfast. Why had they left their conversation like they had last night? Albus felt horrible about the things he had said to Scorpius, and some of it was true, but mostly he realized he felt, well, jealous. He just wanted his best friend back, the way things were when they were 12.   
Albus’s grumbling mood continued as he uncrumpled himself from the heavy bedspread, bracing himself for the cold that was already taking hold of the Slytherin dungeons this early in the year. As he pulled on his nice pants that were quickly losing their meticulous crease and bundled up in several layers of Hogwarts sweaters, he replayed the conversation from last night in his head. Why was it that Scorpius’ new friendship with Theodore made him so jealous? Everyone had the same possessive feelings towards their best mate, right? Somehow, Albus didn’t think so. His mood worsened when he lifted up his robe to reveal the silver and green of a sad-looking tie crumpled at the bottom of his chest. Scorpius always tied his tie for him, ever since their first day at Hogwarts when Albus had timidly admitted he’d never learned. Just another way he was entirely useless without Scorpius. He hastily shoved the tie into his bag like he was hiding it from a professor and set off to eat, although he really wasn’t hungry. 

Breakfast was a somber affair. Albus ate as quickly as he could, shoveling bits of dry cereal into his mouth, but he still thought it lasted entirely too long. He kept looking up from the History of Magic textbook he was pretending to read to glance at Scorpius at the other end of the table. The other boy didn’t look as sad as Albus. He could always tell when Scorpius was down because he would slump his shoulders and purse his lips. However, he didn’t exactly look at ease with Theodore and his new group of Quidditch friends. His eyes were glazed over like he was shut off from the conversation and his face was unreadable. Definitely not the smiling, excited Scorpius that Albus expected. It was way too early in the morning for the Potter boy to interpret that. 

The bitter autumn wind bit Albus’s face as he made his way to Herbology alone. He was usually happy to see Professor Longbottom, but today he internally groaned when his godfather approached him as soon as he pushed open the cloudy greenhouse doors.   
“Albus, my man, how’s it going?” the smiling-faced professor asked, dusting off his hands on his pants, which were already so coated in dirt Albus couldn’t tell what color they originally were.   
“Everything’s fine,” Albus said, but his fake smile faded as he heard Scorpius’s joyful laugh behind him as the greenhouse doors opened again. Neville’s eyebrows quirked at this. Albus hoped he wouldn’t notice, but Neville was the most caring person he knew. He could never lie to his godfather about his feelings.   
“Well, obviously not everything. Is everything okay between you and Malfoy?” Professor Longbottom’s tone was concerned, in great contrast to his usual chipper and upbeat tone.   
“We...uhhh..kind of had a fight last night. It’s not a big deal though.” Neville nodded, but somehow Albus knew he sensed it was a really big deal. He thankfully didn’t press the issue though.   
“I think it’s normal for friends to fight, especially friends as close as you and Scorpius. Why, your dad and your uncle Ron didn’t talk for a month in their fourth year. It about drove your aunt Hermione crazy.”   
Albus laughed at this; practically everything his dad and Ron did drove Hermione crazy. He was surprised by this story, though. Those three were practically inseparable, even now, 25 years later. Hopefully, that boded well for the chances of his friendship with Scorpius surviving.   
“Thank you, Professor Longbottom, that makes me feel a lot better.”   
“I’m glad, Al. You can talk to me anytime you need it. And you know you can call me Neville.”   
Albus rolled his eyes good-naturedly at this. His godfather’s attempts to be cool always made him smile. He turned to take the nearest seat when Neville stopped him again.   
“And..Uhh.. Albus.. I hate to tell you this because this is a stupid rule and all, but it’s school policy that you wear your tie. If you show up without it again I have to give you detention.”   
Albus groaned at this. His day kept getting better and better. “Yes, Professor,” he replied, blushing a little with embarrassment. He had totally forgotten about that rule. 

Albus stomped up to the Gryffindor table at lunch, stopping abruptly behind a familiar head of bushy red hair. He tapped Rose on the shoulder, and she spun around so quickly she nearly took Albus’s legs out from under him.   
“What?” she snapped but softened when she realized who it was.   
“Bloody hell, Rose, you scared me,” Albus chided, but his cousin just shrugged nonchalantly.   
“Yeah, well I thought you were Scorpius. He keeps coming to me for Quidditch tips. Will you please tell him that Fletchery is a plenty good enough keeper and-” Albus cut her off. He was not interested in telling Scorpius anything at the present moment.   
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” he said. He knew if he didn’t stop her, Rose could talk for hours. “I need your help.” Rose rolled her eyes at this, crossing her arms in a way that reminded Albus scarily of his Aunt Hermione, Rose’s mother.   
“Why is that the only time you ever come to talk to me?” Albus ignored this comment but filed it away for later. He really did need to make more of an effort to spend time with his cousin during the school year.   
“Do you know how to tie a tie?” Albus mumbled, his cheeks pinking.   
“What?” Rose asked, shocked.   
“Do you know-”   
“I heard what you said, Al. You don’t know how to tie a tie?”   
“No..uhh... Scorpius always does it. But we’re not exactly talking right now.”   
“Scorpius ties your ties?” Geez. Rose really could be tactless sometimes.   
“Don’t act so surprised,” Albus retorted under his breath. Rose rolled her eyes again and turned back around to her lunch. “What? Rose? You’re not going to help me?” His cousin sighed and turned around, looking Albus in the eyes for the first time in the conversation.   
“Albus, I love you, but you gotta figure this out on your own. You need to talk to him.” With that, she returned to her lunch, and Albus was left to escape to the library to think about what he’d say to Scorpius tonight. 

Scorpius could hear Albus following him down the corridor before he spoke.   
“Scorpius, we need to talk.” Albus started. The blonde boy pointedly ignored his best friend as he stepped through the door to their dormitory. Albus struggled to keep up with Malfoy’s long strides. Scorpius had grown several inches over the summer, and neither boy was used to the new height difference between them.   
“Please, Scorpius,” Albus pleaded. Scorpius stopped in front of his massive bed frame, and Albus rushed to his side, placing a gentle hand on Scorpius’s shoulder. The blonde boy turned around to look Albus in the eyes. The shorter boy was obviously distraught, his eyes panicky and his lips pouty. Scorpius softened, but he tried not to show it. How could he say no to that face? Albus was his best mate, after all.   
“Okay, but you better be apologizing.” Scorpius crossed his arms in a relaxed manner and sat down on the edge of the bed.   
“Of course. I’m so sorry Scorpius. I was being stupid. You’re allowed to have other friends.” Albus paused for a moment, uncertain if he should join in sitting. Scorpius didn’t protest though when he hesitantly squeezed in next to him. The space was a lot smaller than when they first came to Hogwarts.   
Albus continued when Scorpius didn’t respond. “The thing is, I was jealous I guess.”   
Scorpius’s mouth widened in shock at this. “You were jealous of Theodore?” he asked, appalled. “Theodore’s cool, but you’re my best mate, Al. Nothing’s ever going to change that.” Albus couldn’t hide his relieved smile.   
“That’s good, cause today was awful. I’m absolutely hopeless without you.” Scorpius laughed at this, the wide but casual laugh that Albus loved so much.   
“You better not forget it, Potter,” Scorpius replied, ruffling Albus’s mop of curly dark hair. “I’m sorry if I’m not spending as much time with you as before. I promise I’ll let you know ahead of time if plans change. But you could learn to make some decisions on your own.”   
“I know,” Albus said begrudgingly, but added with a smirk, “just not today.” Scorpius rolled his eyes at this. “Help me study for Charms?”   
“Sure thing. Wouldn’t want to work your pretty little head too hard, would we?” Scorpius winked. He placed his hand on Albus’s shoulder for a long moment before he got up, leaving Albus to follow behind wondering whether Scorpius was joking or not.


	3. A Natural Talent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> January of sixth year means apparition lessons, and a chance for new revelations for the boys

January 2024  
The sixth years were excited to learn when they returned from the Christmas holidays that apparition lessons were starting that weekend.   
When Albus and Scorpius arrived in the Great Hall that Saturday morning, the long house tables had vanished. The ceiling reflected the sky above. The heavy gray clouds seemed dreary now that the holidays were over.   
A tall, kind-faced witch stood in the center of the large room with a massive clipboard. “Everyone, please find a station,” she shouted over the din of excited teenagers. “We will be starting promptly.”   
The boys looked around to realize that they were some of the last ones to arrive. Most of their classmates had already chosen one of the large glowing hoops to stand behind. Albus assumed that they would try to apparate into one of them.   
The boys finally found two spots open in the far left of the room, against the dark stone wall. Scorpius claimed the hoop in front of Albus, and Albus wasn’t mad about staring at the back of Scorpius’s blonde head. Speaking of that, Albus scanned the room for a vivid curly redhead but couldn’t find his cousin anywhere.   
As soon as the last students, a pair of giggly Ravenclaw girls trickled into the room the tall witch from earlier quieted the room with a powerful silencing charm.   
“Hello, everyone. My name is Susan Bones and I’m the head of the Department of Magical Transportation. I was so honored when I was asked to teach you all apparition. You see, Harry Potter and our very own Minister of Magic Hermione Granger-Weasley were in my apparition class.”   
Murmurs and whispered ooohs filled the room. Albus rolled his eyes. He had never gotten used to fact that his whole family was really famous in the wizarding world.   
“It’s not like he took down Voldemort by disapperating from him,” Albus huffed. Scorpius turned around to smile at him, knowing well that Albus was uncomfortable with his notoriety. Albus could tell he was nervous though. He gave his best encouraging smile back hoping that the other boy would understand his faith in him.   
Susan Bones shushed the room with another spell. “Remember, the most important thing in apparition is to keep in mind where you’re going. I want you to envision yourself inside the hoop. You have to be determined to reach your destination.” The class looked around at each other, bewildered when Ms. Bones didn’t continue.   
“Go ahead, try it,” she urged. There was a long pause; none of the students wanted to embarrass themselves by looking stupid attempting it. Quickly, though, a handful of students shrugged, deciding to take the plunge together. Albus felt much braver when everyone was facing their own hoops, focused on the goal ahead of them. He saw Scorpius’s shoulders braced, his hands balled into tight fists. Albus scrunched his eyebrows as he shut out his eyes to the rest of the world. He could see the gleaming gold hoop hovering before him. He imagined himself inside the hoop, but when he slowly opened his eyes his feet stayed firmly on the ground where he had started. He couldn’t help but feel disappointed.   
“Don’t worry if you don’t get it today, it takes most wizards and witches weeks or even months to accomplish,” Susan Bones reminded them, weaving her way through the frustrated students. 

It took another hour for Albus to make any progress. By that point, he was absolutely exhausted, but he was re-invigorated when he felt a spark of magic during one of his countless attempts. He grew excited and his heart started pumping furiously against his ribcage. This next one is the one, I can feel it Albus thought. He wanted Scorpius to watch to win his approval, but he decided not to jinx it.   
He took a deep breath and shut his eyes. Again, he envisioned himself inside the hoops. He felt a whoosh of magic from his naval, but instead of landing on the ground, he felt familiar strong arms wrapped around him, holding him up. His eyes flew open, meeting a pair of familiar grey ones.   
“Bloody hell, I’m so sorry!” he blurted loudly, leaping out of Scorpius’s arms, his face beet red. Scorpius only kindly laughed.   
“Don’t be! I’m actually pretty impressed-“ His words were cut off by an excited Susan Bones. She barrelled towards the two boys.   
“You’ve done it!! I’ve never seen someone catch on so fast! What’s your name boy?” she asked Albus.   
Albus wilted under the stares of his classmates who had been alerted to his presence by Mrs. Bones’ loud approach.   
“Albus Potter,” he grumbled, his already red face flushing with heat.   
“Of course!! A Potter! I’d expect nothing less from Harry’s son.” She beamed at Albus. “I’d call that a successful lesson, wouldn’t you, class? Get some rest and I’ll see you in a week. You’d do well to watch Mr. Potter as an example.” The sixth years filed away quickly with sounds of rustling and wandering conversations.   
“Well done today, Albus Potter,” Susan said, striding away while making bold marks on her clipboard.   
The two giggling Ravenclaws from before passed Albus and Scorpius as they pushed their way towards the exit.   
Albus couldn’t help overhearing their conversation as one of the girls said his name.   
“Did you see what that Albus Potter did?” she asked, her voice well above a comfortable whisper.   
“No, but did you see how he basically landed in that Malfoy boys’ lap? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say there was something going on between them.”   
“Oh my god, they would make such a cute couple!” Her friend squealed. Albus was hit by a wall of confusion and panic as the girls were lost in the crowd. Instinctively, Albus looked over at Scorpius to see if he had registered the words, but his mate was obviously off in another world at the moment. Albus tried to hide his anxious smile the rest of the way to the dormitory because the idea of dating Scorpius was not as appalling as it probably should be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this quite a while ago, but I thought I'd be fitting to post it at the time it takes place.   
> I'm sorry its quite short, but I already have the next chapter written and its one of my favorites I've ever written so I'm already hyped (it'll go up on Valentine's Day).   
> Thanks for reading, I appreciate you all so much.


	4. Armortentia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Valentine’s Day potions class reveals feelings Albus himself didn’t even know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine’s Day you turkeys! I wrote this quite a while ago, but I’ve been saving it for today <3   
> This might be one of my favorite chapters I’ve written of anything, and it’s pretty important for the next two chapters, so I hope you like it!!

February 14, 2024  
Albus was absolutely shocked to see the stark explosion of pink that overtook his senses the second he stepped into the Great Hall. Scorpius crashed into him when he abruptely stopped, and Albus could feel his warm breath on his neck and his bony fingers as he pressed his hands on Albus’s back to steady himself.   
“Scorpius, what day is it?” Albus asked, already dreading the answer as they made their way through the crowded, overly excited hall.   
“February 14,” Scorpius replied through gritted teeth. “Which would make it…”   
“Valentine’s Day,” both boys groaned in unison. Every single year they had been at Hogwarts, the professors, who were all young and hip and overly happy for having fought in a war, made a really big deal about it. Both boys spent the whole day every year complaining: neither of them ever got any Valentines. They usually ended up laying on their beds in their dormitories, eating chocolate Albus’s cousins and siblings had shared out of pity.   
This year, both boys were surprised to find a massive pile of Valentines at Scorpius’s usual spot at the table.   
“This must be some kind of joke,” Albus said quickly, but immediately felt bad when Scorpius’ face fell.   
“You don’t think I’m popular enough to get Valentines?” Scorpius joked, but Albus could tell the comment hurt.   
“Of course you are Scorpius. Anyone with eyes would fancy you,” Albus blushed as soon as he said it. That was weird. Why had he said that?   
If Scorpius noticed Albus’s strange reaction, though, he didn’t say anything. He smiled to show all was forgiven and started to flip through the pile of letters. Apparently, joining the Quidditch team had made Scorpius much more popular than Albus had realized.   
The only cards Albus had gotten were from his family. He felt bad, he hadn’t thought to get his cousins or his siblings anything. James had graduated last year and wouldn’t have cared anyways, but he knew his sister loved Valentine’s Day. He got up to take a chocolate frog to her at the Gryffindor table when a card from the bottom of the stack fell onto the ground. Albus picked it up and was about to chuck it back onto the table when he noticed what it said: I think you’re pretty cool. And pretty and cool. From, your secret admirer. Albus, as he was prone to do, blushed profusely. It might not have been the smoothest Valentine, but the thought of having a secret admirer made him weak in the knees. He looked over at Scorpius to see if he noticed, but the boy was too busy spilling jelly doughnut on an intricately laced pop-up card to care. 

Albus was excited to have potions first thing that day as it was his favorite class. It was one of the only classes that him, Scorpius, and Rose all had together this year, and the three of them were becoming fast friends.   
Professor Macmillan, a Hufflepuff all too cheery to be a Potions master, bustled into the room as they took their seats, obviously excited for today’s lesson.   
“I’ve been looking forward to class all year. I have a special surprise today! This morning, we’re going to be making Armortentia, the most powerful love potion known to wizards. It’s a NEWT level potion, but I’m hoping you’ll have fun with it.”   
“Perfect,” Rose quipped to their table. “I’ve been looking for a good prank all year.”   
“You really scare me sometimes, Rose. Remind me not to get on your bad side,” Albus requested. He had no doubt Rose’s potion would be extremely powerful. She was the second best at potions in their year, after him.   
“If you were, you wouldn’t know it.” She smiled sweetly, but her eyes held a mischevious gleam.   
“Turn to page 509 in your Advanced Potions Making books and get started. Let me know if you need any help.” With that, Professor Macmillan began to wander the room. There was a collective sound of rustling as the small class of sixth year potion students turned their textbooks to the correct page.   
The class was surprisingly quiet for the next hour as they worked, the silence punctated by the sound of sizzling cauldrons or crushing of ingredients. By the end of class, Albus was satisified with his work. The potion had a distinct mother-of-pearl sheen, wafting up to the rafters of the dungeon ceiling far above.   
“Great work, Potter,” Professor Macmillan commented as he passed by the table. “Full marks. You too, Weasley.” Rose blew a strand of hair out of her face as she continued to tweak her potion, unsatisifed that Albus’s was more potent than hers. Albus turned to look at Scorpius’ cauldron. He was frowning at his work, clearly dissapointed. It wasn’t very strong, but Albus could tell he just needed to add more powdered moonstone.   
“It doesn’t smell like anything,” Scorpius said sadly. “All I smell is your shampoo, Albus.” Huh. That was weird. Albus hadn’t taken a shower that morning. He hadn’t thought to smell his potion yet. He thought he sensed the acidic breeze of the Slytherin common room and buttered popcorn like they served at Holyhead Harpies games when his mom used to play for them. The third scent was harder to make out though. All he smelled was the vanilla of Scorpius’ lotion, and….oh. Could that be the third scent? He was almost too scared to ask the next question, but he needed to test a theory.   
“Uh, Scorpius?” he asked timidly.   
“Humm?” Scorpius replied nonchantly, still attending to his potion.   
“Did you, uh, wear your vanilla lotion today?” He choked on the words, but the other boy didn’t notice.   
“No, why?” Scorpius asked, turning to look at Albus. He couldn’t look in Scorpius’s eyes at that moment.   
“Uh, no reason,” Albus said, turning away to hide his rising blush. Why did he have to be such a profuse blusher? He dared to look up at Rose. She gave him a quizzical look, but didn’t say anything.   
Suddenly, all the flashes of blonde hair in his dreams and his possessiveness towards Scorpius made sense. All the feelings he had been tampering down all year hit him like a truck right there in the middle of potions class. He had to take a deep breath, but it didn’t ease the rock of tension building in his chest. The future he had always expected was shattering in front of him. He knew then that his relationship with his best mate would never be the same, because he was undoutbly head-over-heels in love with him.


End file.
